“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

Motivational Monday

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts. It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”

I’ve been working on poetry forms again. The focus I find is helping me rethink my word usage in my book. Writers are guilty of using extra verbiage that doesn’t add to the story.

I decided to give a Fib aka Fibonacci for short a try because of its rigid structure.

Form: Fibonacci~ 8 Lines~ Syllabic Structure: 1/1/2/3/5/8/13/21

In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the following integer sequence, called the Fibonacci sequence, and characterized by the fact that every number after the first two is the sum of the two preceding. Fib is an experimental Western poetry form, bearing similarities to haiku, but based on the Fibonacci sequence. That is, the typical fib and one version of the contemporary Western haiku both follow a strict structure. The typical fib is a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8 – with as many syllables per line as the line’s corresponding place in the Fibonacci sequence; the specific form of contemporary Western haiku uses three (or fewer) lines of no more than 17 syllables in total. The only restriction on a Fib is that the syllable count follows the Fibonacci sequence.

Barriers Aside

I

need
freedom
to take steps.
A bold move beyond
the usual path love follows.
I want no boundaries, no rules to confine my heart.
I wonder if you are the one to join me on this elusive passion-filled journey.

” A novel can be set in motion by an incident, a character, a location, a mood, by anything at all Sometimes the stimulus can be an idea, which will rapidly clothe itself in a character.” Cynthia Ozick

The inciting incident happens in the first act.

The inciting incident happens to the protagonist.

The protagonist is usually passive at this juncture; the inciting incident is generally set in motion by someone or something else (a letter, a visit, an encounter)

Round 56 I became so frustrated with the long double crochets that I tossed the mandala in a basket and left it for a few days. I finished the round with a few more curse words and went on to Round 57 which tidied up Round 56. It is now 45 inches around.

Beware, Tami, if you’re stitches are tight it will curl some. Helen Shrimpton did note that it will be wavy. Mine is on one side but not so much on the other once I got my groove. And the good news is there are no special stitches in Round 9. Just lots of front or back post stitches.
And our work will be wobbly again in this section…
She said, “don’t worry, it’s all part of the grand design ”

I introduced lavender, purple and baby blue this round. Although in the camera lighting the purple looks like black. I was ready for new colors. My lilacs are blooming so I decided to give them a place in this journey, the sky was a lovely shade of blue without a cloud in it on the day I began that round. The deep purple represents the lovely flags on the irises. I love the spring time blooms.

I’ve been working on my short story Death and I. My short story is fascinating thus far because I have it from the woman’s point of view and from Thanatos point of view. The story has evolved into two stories, not one. I worked on it for 15 minutes today, Theresa. This writing to be more productive challenge will be an eye opener for me, it’s been quite a while sine I’ve sat 90 minutes straight without interruption. I know I need too. There are too many things distractions and my writing is suffering dearly. I don’t think I managed to get 5 hours out of the whole week. 😦 But, excuses are like assholes, we all have them.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.”
—Philip Roth

So, this morning I finished the baby hat I needed to get done for a friend of mine to go with the baby afghan I did back in March. I totally spaced the hat out. I saw her on Friday at the Cancer Recognition Luncheon and she asked if it was done. The afghan yes, the hat…oops. Needless to say, I whipped that hat up. I had put the blanket in the closet on the shelf because we had company in April visiting and out of sight out of mind.

Thank goodness, I’m not using baby pink in my Mandala, I am so over that color. I’ve done 3 baby blankets for new Mommas and of course, they were all girls. I’m not a fan of pink but that is the color they wanted. Need to keep the customers happy. 🙂

Friday, was a fun day I attended a luncheon with 38 other Cancer survivors, we were being honored by the local Teacher’s Union. Mastori’s, a local restaurant, catered the lunch and the food was excellent.

It was awesome to connect with other cancer survivors and to hear their stories. We’re beating the cancer odds more and more each year. Early detection is crucial, don’t ever neglect your self-exams. You know your body better than anyone, talk to your doctor if anything feels wrong to you. It can be the difference between life and death.

I wore a dress, totally out of character for me. The funny part of the dress thing was I rubbed my leg and realized oh shit, totally forgot to shave my legs. Thank goodness, it had only been a few days since I had. 😦

I’m a jeans girl and shaving my legs isn’t a priority. to me.

No worries, my health is fine. I’m a three-time cancer survivor and it’s been 10 years since my last round of cancer. 🙂

I’m simply sporting my summer do, I don’t like sticky hair when I’m working outside so I cut it right off. I discovered after chemo how easy it is to shower and go and it’s become a summer routine. Though this year, I did decide to go really short. What can I say, hair today, hair tomorrow… it grows back very quickly so by July I’ll be back to needing gel and a straightener because of the unwanted curls.

If you have time to breathe you have time to meditate. You breathe when you walk. You breathe when you stand. You breathe when you lie down. – Ajahn Amaro

Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment. – Alan Watts

Life is a mystery – mystery of beauty, bliss and divinity. Meditation is the art of unfolding that mystery. – Amit Ray

I’m on round 30 working on my Mandala. It now covers most of my lap and I am only on Mandala Madness Part 4 and the series goes to 10. The directions are easy to follow along though I will admit the sun bursts were not easy for me. I had to work the yarn around to have mine look like sunbursts. What about you Tami, did you have to keep adjusting yours?

The sun has been shining in New Jersey, we’ve had the heat off and the windows open enjoying the birds harmonizing in our neighborhood. I love listening to the birds singing in the morning. Unfortunately, the bad part of having the windows open is hearing your neighbor’s yapping dog. GRRRR…

Friday, my grandson Chris and I cleaned the lower yard. I enjoy spending time with Chris immensely. He is 8 years old and loves motorcycles, card tricks, and soccer. He enjoyed showing me a card trick learned. I introduced him to the game of Cribbage. He was getting the hang of the game by the time the afternoon ended. “A grandson is a gift from above. One to cherish, one to love.”